INSTANT POT SPAGHETTI

One of the most requested recipes to make in the Instant Pot is an easy pasta dish. I am excited to share my recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti that won’t burn and is perfectly flavorful. It’s easy to make and ready just under 20 minutes (including the IP coming to pressure). This spaghetti is officially my family’s favorite IP dinner and is requested every week! This Instant Pot Spaghetti is a perfect dish to have in your go-to pressure cooker recipes for busy weeknights or any day you want a big bowl of pasta. It’s cooked with Italian sausage and ziti pasta and is absolutely delicious!

HOW DO YOU COOK SPAGHETTI IN THE INSTANT POT?

Add ground beef and cook until browned. Spoon out and discard any grease (this depends on the type of beef you use). Add 1/2 cup of water and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot.

Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern on top of the meat. (see photo below for visual reference). Add remaining water to the pot.

Pour diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing.

Set timer to 7 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will start the countdown. Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to venting to release pressure. Open the lid away from your face, as there will be leftover steam in the pot.

The dish will look like it has too much liquid, but all you need to do is stir well several time and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. It will thicken up.

How long does it take to cook spaghetti in the Instant Pot?

This Instant Pot Spaghetti cooks in 7 minutes. Since the meat is browned, all you need to do is cook the pasta. That’s why the time is so short. You should also note that it takes about 10 to 12 minutes for the IP to come to pressure.

Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute and then switch the valve to venting to release the pressure. Open the lid away from your face. There will be leftover steam in the pot, so you need to be careful. At first, it will look like there is too much liquid in the dish. You may think you just made spaghetti soup! Don’t panic! The amount of liquid prevented the burn and made sure the pasta is perfectly cooked. The spaghetti will look like in the image below.

All you need to do now is stir it well and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Perfect time to set up the table and whip up a simple salad or breadsticks. After that, when the excess liquid evaporates and some absorbs into the dish, you will have spaghetti that looks like the image below, simply perfect!

How to prevent a bland tasting Instant Pot spaghetti?

If you have been cooking in your Instant Pot for a while, you may know that some dishes tend to be bland. It is almost a rule that you should overseason a dish cooked in the IP. My secret that I use often in a variety of dishes, is to heat up the spices in oil with garlic and onions, if using. It will activate dried spices. In this case, to make a flavorful spaghetti, I add Italian seasoning mix to the oil when sauteeing garlic. It becomes very fragrant. Then you add the beef and let the spices infuse the meat. This also works when making soups and dishes that start with sauteing garlic, onions, celery, carrots and even potatoes. If you are using Italian sausage instead of ground beef, you won’t need as much spice. The sausage is usually pretty flavorful.

If you like a little kick in your spaghetti, sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes over the pasta. Don’t forget a generous amount of grated Parmesan over each serving.

Can I use frozen beef to make Instant Pot spaghetti?

If you have a frozen block of beef (or turkey meat), you can quickly thaw it out in the Instant Pot before you set out to make the spaghetti. You need 1.5 cups of water in the insert, then set frozen beef on a trivet. Set for 7 minutes on HIGH pressure. Quickly release the pressure. The meat won’t be cooked through but thawed so you can now brown it to make the spaghetti. Discard the liquid and remove trivet. Rinse and wipe the insert clean, if needed. Heat up oil and begin browning the beef.

MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES:

To learn more about the Instant Pot, check out my Guide for Beginners. If you experienced the “burn” message while using your IP, check out myInstant Pot Burn Message post to learn how to fix the issue and prevent it in the first place.

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀

Start by heating up oil on the saute setting. Add garlic and stir. Add onion powder and Italian seasoning. Stir and saute for 1 minute.

Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon out and discard any grease (this depends on the type of beef you use).

Add 1/2 cup of water and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot. This step is important as it will prevent the dish from burning during pressure cooking.

Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern on top of the meat. (see photo in post for visual reference). Add remaining water to the pot.

Pour diced tomatoes (with liquid) and crushed tomatoes (or pasta sauce) over noodles. Do your best to keep it in the center, away from the edges of the pot. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing.

Set timer to 7 minutes and make sure the IP is set to cook on HIGH pressure. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will start the countdown.

Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to venting to release pressure.

Open the lid away from your face, as there will be leftover steam in the pot. The dish will look like it has too much liquid, but all you need to do is stir well several time and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. It will thicken up.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

You can use ground turkey or Italian sausage to make this spaghetti. When using Italian sausage, reduce the seasoning by half.

You can use fresh onion (about half of a medium) in place of onion powder. Saute the onion with garlic.

Reader Interactions

Comments

You are amazing girl! My 8 qt feed an army that couldn’t say enough good things. I cheated peeling garlic (hate that) when I found packages of fresh garlic already peeled in the dairy case. To my surprise it was fresher and better tasting than any bulb I’ve ever bought. I know you were keeping it quick and easy, but I substituted fresh basil for personal preference. Thank you. I’m coming to you first on all future recipes.

Thank you SO much for not only your guidance for newbies but for this great recipe as well! Just got my Instant Pot today—a gift to me from my stim check and replacing my crockpot which died a week ago. NGL I was super intimidated but your instructions & step by step explanations helped so much. My husband couldn’t believe that I made spaghetti in ONE pot, he was skeptical…until he dug in & then had seconds. I followed your recipe pretty much to a T, other than my addition of white sugar (to cut the tomato acidity) & shredded mozzarella. I’ll be back again to try another recipe tomorrow! 🙂 Thanks again!

Hi Amanda! Yay! Welcome to the Instant Pot club! I am so happy to know you enjoyed the spaghetti and that it was a hit with you and your husband. That’s fantastic! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I hope you will find more to enjoy!

Would this work with other pasta, like penne or rigatoni? Also, if meat is omitted, does the amount of water still stay the same? I saw one commenter mentioned that she forgot the water but it turned out perfect..so just a little curious.

This is a great starting base recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti . This was my first time ever attempting this in an instant pot. Instructions are perfect (thank you). I did use thin spaghetti pasta and used the same amount of liquid and time as stated in this recipe. I did use 1/2 cup red wine as part of the 3 cups water. I used 1/2 lb lean ground beef and 1/2 lb mild sausage as this is what I had in the freezer. I was skeptical that the seasoning in the recipe would not be enough for me but did follow the steps and amounts listed. I used the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes as my sauce. Once the pot was completely done (where it looked like liquid Spaghetti 🙂 I tasted and was too bland for me. I proceeded to add 1 can tomato paste, 3 big shakes of crushed red pepper, a ton more salt, a tsp of sugar and 1/2 cup of shredded Swiss cheese (crazy but a secret of a friends pasta sauce recipe). Let is sit (as recommended so it will thicken), stirring occasionally. It was then da bomb! Everyone loved it and will be making again. So nice not to have to use two pots!

Thank you for this awesome easy recipe! I will never make spaghetti on the stove top again. Followed your instructions to the T except I also added mushrooms while browning the meat. Super 😋 added some garlic bread I also made in my instant vortex.

So, I have to start by saying that half way through the 7 minute cooking time I realized, because I was in a hurry, I didn’t add the 3 cups of water! I added everything else though. I was waiting for the “Burn” alert which never happened thankfully, but I was wondering what I would find in the pot when I opened it without having added the water. However, when I opened the pot and stirred what was there, to my surprise, IT WAS PERFECT! It was the perfect consistency, the perfect flavor, just perfect all around!!! I guess the canned tomatoes and jar of pasta sauce was enough liquid to cook the noodles, or maybe I just got lucky? Anyway, great recipe! Thank you!

I used extra spices and a whole pack of noodles with enough additional water to rinse the can and jar. The noodles were great. I like sauce, so I will add some next time. I still needed more spices. Overall good.

This recipe is amazing!!! The best recipe I’ve used by far. Better than the one I’ve used for years hands down. I have 3 teenagers and whenever I make spaghetti I make alot. For leftovers, lunches etc. I took a chance and doubled the recipe in my 8 qt instant pot and it turned out perfect. I used ground turkey minced garlic and chopped onions instead. I had zero problems with the noodles clumping together. I was a little worried when I first opened it up despite your warning that it needs to sit for 5 to 10 mins for the sauce to thicken up. Just a few stirs and some patience and it came out almost identical to your picture. Thank you!!!😊

Hi Marlo! A few of my readers used red wine without problems so I say go for it! Let me know how you like it! You can use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water as well. I would recommend the low-sodium kind.

I’d like to try this with a 16 1/4 oz jar of Marinara sauce with thin spaghetti that says on box that 6-7 min for perfect al dente. Also I would only use about 12 oz (3/4 lb) of the thin spaghetti. I’m wondering how much water you would use and how long to cook? I don’t want it to be al dente though. I like my noodles cooked more than al dente. I’m just concerned about it being too “liquidy” or the noodles being over cooked because of them being thin.

I just noticed you used 12 oz pasta instead of a 16 oz like many other recipies like this call for. I’d also be using 3/4 lbs of meat. So with spaghetti that cooks quicker and less sauce, what would be your water recommendations?

Hi Perry! The general recommendation is to cook pasta for half the time than the instructions on the box. Also, I did not test this recipe with thin spaghetti and less sauce so I can’t guarantee the final result.

Hi Eden! If you have the 6 quart Instant Pot, I do not recommend doubling the recipe. My pot was pretty filled up and double the amount would not fit. I did not test this recipe in 8 quart IP so I can’t say if it will work. I hope this helps!

I didn’t have time to sauté the meat so I threw it in half defrosted and have frozen, broke it down the best I could and cooked everything for 15 minutes and it was absolutely perfect. Meat was a bit chunky From the frozen parts so I just broke it up before serving.

Hi! I’m so glad I found your instant pot ideas!!! I’ve been looking for simple ways to make practical foods in it instead of things like Scandinavian braised lamb with garlic quince pate’ lol. I’m gonna be using my IP a lot now! There’s one thing I’d like to correct (sorry… I’m a retired teacher.) you used the word “blend” for plain tasting when you mean “bland.” An easy mistake. Hope this helps.

Hi Dawn! The 3.5 cups of water are correct. Less would not be enough. Let me know how it goes! One tip: make sure to spread the noodles so they don’t gather too close together or they will stick. Grab a little bit at a time, break in half and arrange over the meat. Repeat until you used up all the spaghetti noodles. Hope this helps!